Sustainability

Healthy communities

We are passionate about supporting the health and wellbeing of the communities in which we operate by providing quality, service and value at our stores and through our partnerships with community organisations such as Little Athletics.

Health, nutrition and safety

At Coles, we want to provide all Australians with great tasting Coles Brand products that are sourced in Australia and meet our customers dietary needs.

Reducing salt, sugar and saturated fat

Coles has developed targets to reduce salt, sugar and saturated fat across the Coles Brand product range, beginning with a program focused on Coles Brand nutritional snacks and cereals.

We are also working on reducing salt in our sausages by reformulating our products while maintaining quality and taste.

Sugar and salt reduction initiatives will continue to improve the nutritional profile of our products across the Coles Brand range.

Colours and additives

We are driving initiatives to remove artificial additives from Coles Brand products.

Responding to customer feedback on the use of colours, Coles Brand has removed 28 artificial colours from products and continues to remove other additives across a range of products.

Health Star Ratings

The Health Star Rating is a federal government front-of-pack labelling system that aims to assist customers make healthier choices when buying packaged foods. The system rates the overall nutritional profile of the product and assigns it a rating, from half a star through to five stars. It provides a quick, easy, standard way to compare similar foods.

Health star ratings are currently displayed on over 1,550 Coles Brand products.

Product quality and safety

Coles’ range of own brand products includes Coles Brand, Coles Finest and Mix apparel. In FY 2017, more than 80 per cent of Coles Brand food and drink was sourced from Australian suppliers.

Coles works with our suppliers to provide our customers with high quality and safe Coles Brand products. In FY 2017, Coles Brand products were recognised with 51 industry awards for 91 products.

All Coles Brand suppliers use a web-based product and supplier database, Fusion, which allows for product traceability and strict adherence to quality compliance standards such as declarable allergens, certifications and nutritional information.

During FY 2017, our rigorous Coles Brand supplier testing program completed more than 47,000 checks covering allergens, imported food, residue, organic products and microbiology. We also performed quality checks on more than 4,000 products in FY 2017 at our Store Support Centre and conducted more than 158,000 arrival checks at our fresh produce distribution centres, with an additional 34,000 checks for chilled products.

Special dietary requirements

Coles Brand provides a range of products for customers with special dietary requirements. This includes people who require gluten free options and products free of allergens such as nuts and dairy.
We also cater for customers requiring vegan and vegetarian options.

Quiet Hour

In November 2017, Coles rolled out Quiet Hour into 70 supermarkets across the country.

Quiet Hour provides a low-sensory shopping experience by making changes in store, such as reducing noise and distractions, to help make a difference to customers who find it challenging to shop in a heightened sensory environment.

Last year, Coles partnered with Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) and trialled Quiet Hour at two of our Victorian stores (Ringwood and Balwyn East) to help support customers who are - or have family members - on the autism spectrum.

Following the overwhelming success of the trial from customers and team members, Quiet Hour is now offered every Tuesday between 10:30am-11:30am at 70 stores across Australia. In 2018 Quiet Hour will be rolled out to more stores nationally.

During Quiet Hour, customers will notice the following changes in participating Coles supermarkets:

Store lighting will be dimmed by 50 per cent

Coles Radio will be switched off

Register and scanner volumes will be reduced to the lowest level

No trolley collections and roll cages will be removed from the shop floor

No PA announcements except in the case of emergencies

Free fruit will be offered at customer service

Additional team members will be available to support customers

Together with Aspect, Coles is creating a ‘no-judgement’ shopping space where people on the spectrum and their families can feel comfortable and welcome while they complete their daily shop.

Our team members at participating stores are enthusiastic about the initiative and love offering Quiet Hour to their customers who might benefit from the experience. Quiet Hour is just another way we are achieving good things in our communities and for our customers and team members.

Little Athletics

Coles is passionate about our fresh food offering and promoting health and wellbeing in the community, which is why we are excited about our partnership with Little Athletics and Athletics Australia.

Coles’ partnership with Little Athletics and Athletics Australia helps provide more support and resources to athletic centres around the nation, helping to drive future growth in the sport at clubs, schools and communities.

Coles has also donated two million bananas to local clubs during the Little Athletics 2017-2018 season to provide kids with a nutritious snack during competitions.

This fantastic opportunity to be involved in grassroots athletics will help to energise young athletes around the nation and provide support for our local communities.

Coles is proud to partner with World Champion athlete Sally Pearson, to be an ambassador to encourage kids to get active and lead healthy lives through sport.